It will be far simpler to just install OpenBSD 5.1 directly to the USB drive as outlined in Section 14.17.3 & Section 4 of the FAQ. Instead of installing to a hard drive which may already be mounted, specify the USB drive (which will appear as either device sd0 or sd1 when plugged in...), & install directly to it.

Yes, you could continue with the image provided on the Gayatri Hitech page, but the end result will be the same as just installing directly to the USB drive.

It will be far simpler to just install OpenBSD 5.1 directly to the USB drive as outlined in openbsd.org/faq/faq14.html#flashmemLive]Section 14.17.3] & openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html Section of the FAQ. Instead of installing to a hard drive which may already be mounted, specify the USB drive (which will appear as either device sd0 or sd1 when plugged in...), & install directly to it.

Yes, you could continue with the image provided on the liveusb-openbsd.sourceforge.net/#Usbinst]Gayatri Hitechpage, but the end result will be the same as just installing directly to the USB drive.

Hi ocicat,

Thanks! I have now the USB with OpenBSD, but when I boot this liveUSB I can't see the option to install the SO into the server. Have I to deploy the content of the USB into the server HD?

...when I boot this liveUSB I can't see the option to install the SO into the server. Have I to deploy the content of the USB into the server HD?

Sorry, this wasn't quite how I interpreted your initial question, however, the solution is still relatively simple.

Assuming you installed OpenBSD 5.1 as I recommended earlier, the default kernel booted is /bsd. The kernel used for installation is also included in the root directory as /bsd.rd. When prompted during boot:

The bootloader pauses before loading the default kernel. What you will want to do is type /bsd.rd while the bootloader is pausing.

Note that the filesets are not present in this configuration. I don't believe the Gayatri Hitech project includes them either. However, once /bsd.rd is booted, you can access the file sets over the Internet as specified in Section 4 of the FAQ. You can also access them USB (the same device or another USB device...) or CD if you have prepared these media.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about "LiveUSB", a third party offering. I recommend that if you are determined to use it, you contact the author directly for support.

--

The OpenBSD Project's only official, supported methods for installing are via booting from install media developed for the particular architecture. The media choices vary. For the two most popular architectures, i386 or amd64, the choices are the same: booting a diskette, booting a CD/DVD, or booting from a network using a PXE capable NIC and and a PXE configured LAN. (PXE booting requirements and configuration are described in the pxeboot(8) man page.)

If none of these are available on the platform you wish to install onto, the Project recommends either:

A) From a platform that has appropriate media, install onto a bootable, removable external drive, attachable via external channels such as eSATA, USB, or SCSI.

Both of these recommended methods require at least one additional system of the same architecture which can boot installation media. That system may be virtual (e.g.: qemu) if convenient.

Most common alternative methods -- such as manually creating a bootable USB stick containing just the install kernel and installation filesets -- require the admin have prior knowledge of OpenBSD boot block installation/configuration for the particular architecture.

ocicat, lunita obviously wants to install OpenBSD using a flash usb (as she doesn't have a CD player & it seems easier than pxe install ) and not just to install OpenBSD on a flash.

lunita, this post may be a digression from discussion attempting to answer your question. As pointed out by the forum rules, we frown on such hijacking of discussion on this site, however, my answer here will repeat & perhaps give further perspective as to my earlier post with greater technical detail. The reason for repeating is to point out that a default installation is not merely an installation to flash. A default installation to a USB device can be used to install OpenBSD onto other systems.

Yes, it is possible to create a custom script which will create a very specific installation of OpenBSD where one would in turn simply insert into a USB port, boot the computer, & if the BIOS supports booting from USB devices, execution would immediately launch into OpenBSD's installation script. On the i386/amd64 platforms, this would require sufficient knowledge & skill to navigate through the biosboot(8), installboot(8), boot(8), & fdisk(8) manpages. There are primarily three main ingredients to creating such a bootable USB device:

Copy the bsd.rd installation kernel to the USB device after preparing the filesystem.

Correctly install the necessary bootblocks in order to boot an OpenBSD kernel.

Copy all needed filesets to the USB device.

A default installation of OpenBSD takes care of the first requirements automatically. However, a default installation will also boot into the default kernel which will not be bsd.rd -- the kernel which loads a minimal system into memory & contains the installation script. An earlier post points out what is needed to manually boot the desired kernel.

This leaves the question as to where to find the filesets needed to install OpenBSD onto another system. As discussed in Section 4.5.4 of the FAQ, bsd.rd can install the needed filesets from a number of locations as can be seen in the relevant question answered during installation:

Code:

Location of sets? (cd disk ftp http or 'done') [cd] _

Since one of the choices is "disk", the filesets could be copied onto the USB device itself, however, this is not the only choice.

So daemonfowl, you should see now that a default installation to USB can be used to install OpenBSD onto other systems as long as the system's BIOS supports booting from USB devices. In fact, this is the simplest method possible, plus, it is supported by the OpenBSD project.

Sorry, this wasn't quite how I interpreted your initial question, however, the solution is still relatively simple.

Assuming you installed OpenBSD 5.1 as I recommended earlier, the default kernel booted is /bsd. The kernel used for installation is also included in the root directory as /bsd.rd. When prompted during boot:

The bootloader pauses before loading the default kernel. What you will want to do is type /bsd.rd while the bootloader is pausing.

Note that the filesets are not present in this configuration. I don't believe the Gayatri Hitech project includes them either. However, once /bsd.rd is booted, you can access the file sets over the Internet as specified in Section 4 of the FAQ. You can also access them USB (the same device or another USB device...) or CD if you have prepared these media.

Hi all!

I'm on the right way, I guess =). I'm going to explain a little further of my scenario:

The server has a old OpenBSD Installation, 4.9 I think, and I have to reinstall 5.1, with softraid. The previous sysadmin left the company sudenly and $boss wants a fresh install.

I haven't option to select HD devices, but when it's beginning the startup, I see hd0, 1 and 2, as you can see in the previous 'screenshot'.

Why can't I select the HD and not the USB :??

The difference is boot(8) does not make any distinction between IDE & SCSI drives such that all are detected as "hd" devices. On the other hand, the OpenBSD kernel does distinguish between IDE (which are identified as wd(4) devices...) & SCSI (which are identified as sd(4) devices...). The provided links to the manpages will give more information.

The kernel will also assign a number to each IDE/SCSI device. Upon insertion of USB devices, you will see what the kernel assigns on the login console. As an example, if you have one SCSI drive installed in the system, (which would be found in dmesg(8) output as sd0...), inserting a USB device would be assigned the device name sd1. This information would be displayed and placed into the dmesg(8) buffer.

Quote:

At this point I type /bsd.rd and I can choose installing OpenBSD. I follow the process but at this part of the installation:
===========
Available disks are: sd0 sd1 sd2
Which one is the root disk? (or 'done') [sd0]
===========

At this point, the above information prompted by /bsd.rd should make more sense. Three devices are identified by the kernel to use the SCSI subsystem. This may be mix between actual SCSI hard drive(s) & USB device(s).